The Phantom Thieves of New Game+
a collection of Persona 5 one-shots
Chapter Twelve
"You Can't Go Home"
So far, everything was happening just like before. It was all the same as he remembered, like the worst case of deja vu imaginable. Everything froze in Shibuya, he had seen a flaming Arsène appear before him, the Metanav was back on his phone. He had checked as soon as he saw the eye looking back at him. All the Palaces that they had taken down were back. Mementos was back.
Somehow, everything had been reset.
He tried to enter any of the Palaces or Mementos, only to receive an error claiming the service was not available. He had almost thrown his phone at that point. Seeing the Palaces there taunting him was almost a joke. It was insulting him. They were right there, just out of his touch.
He thought things through during his ride and walk to Leblanc, trying to come to terms with what was happening.
All the Palaces were back.
Mementos was back.
He also had almost half a million yen in his wallet, the same amount he had when he left Tokyo only a few hours ago.
So far, everything was identical to how it happened when he first arrived back last April, just with the added bonus of having a lot more yen on him.
Slowly, he found himself in front of Leblanc, his second home. The older couple who had been there when he first showed up had just walked out, nodding to him as they passed him. He took a deep breath and wondered if maybe Sojiro would remember what had happened. Maybe if they saw him they would remember everything that happened, and together they could work out a solution to fix everything.
"That's what happens in anime, at least." he muttered to himself as he opened the door, trying to ignore the fact that he couldn't think of a single one where that happened off the top of his head.
Inside, everything was the same as it had been when he first arrived last April. The coffee cups and the money from the old couple were sitting on the booth that had been sitting at. The TV was on, talking about an accident on the subway. The wall to his right was missing the Sayuri. Everything was the same.
And then there was Sojiro, standing at the bar working on a crossword.
"Boss." Akira said, getting his attention. Sojiro looked at him for a moment in confusion before a spark of understanding appeared in his eyes. Akira felt his heart start to beat fast. Sojiro had to know. He had to know.
"Oh, right." Sojiro said, folding the paper and throwing it back on the counter. "That was today."
"Boss?" Akira asked, getting him to raise an eyebrow.
"Yeah, that's what people call me." Sojiro said testily, looking at him. "Did someone on the street tell you to call me that?"
Akira started to open his mouth, to tell him what happened, but couldn't. He closed his mouth before trying again, only to find something physically stopping him. Sojiro continued looking at him for a moment before sighing, shaking his head.
"Are you done gawking?" he asked, getting him to close his mouth again. "I'm Sakura Sojiro. I'll be in charge of you during your probation, got it?"
"Yes." he said, trying to keep his voice even.
"Understand that I'm running a business here, got it?" he continued, walking into the middle of the walkway. "If you cause any trouble, you try and steal from the till or mess with anything behind the counter, I'll throw you out on your ass in a heartbeat, got it?"
"Yes."
"Good." he said, walking toward the attic. "Follow me." he said, not even bothering to look over his shoulder. Akira mechanically walked behind him, trying to keep his face neutral. He knew if his mask slipped now, Sojiro would probably give him hell. He followed the man up to the attic, into what over the last year he had made into his home.
Instead, the attic was once again a dust-covered mess, with his boxes in the center of the room.
...boxes?
"You'll be staying here." Sojiro said, turning to look at him. "It may not be much, but there are reasons I cannot let you stay in my house."
"It's spacious." he said, straining to keep his voice even.
"Anyways, your things are here." he said, pointing down toward the boxes. "You can clean up in here if you want." Sojiro said, turning back toward the stairs. "You can use the restroom if you need, but stay out of the cafe during working hours, got it."
"I understand."
"Good." Sojiro said, walking back down the stairs. Akira stood there for a moment before walking toward the boxes in the center of the room. He opened the box he did not recognize, only to stand there in numb shock. Inside, was the armor and weapons for the Phantom Thieves, along with various medical items and the gifts his friends and confidants had given him once he left.
Slowly, he made his way over to the bed and sat down, looking out into the room.
He knew Sojiro cared.
He knew the man only put on a tough-guy act.
He knew he did it in order to protect Futaba.
He knew Sojiro cared.
It still didn't stop the tears that finally fell from how the man who had quickly become a father to him had treated him.